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Top 10s » 10 Dead Rockers And The Legacies They Left Behind
Rock stars are people too, right? They suffer the same problems with health and personal issues as the rest of us mere mortals. Well, to some they are far more than humans…they are gods put up on a pedestal that touch our innermost souls. They write and perform songs that touch us so deeply that they become our friends, our family, even though we will possibly never get to meet them in our lifetimes. They are pioneers, influencers, leaders and when mortality catches up with them through illness, accident, self-abuse or by the hands of others they find their places among the gods of their respective genres.
Below you will find a list of 10 musicians that have left this earth prematurely yet have left a profound mark on all those touched by their creativity and humanity…
Charles Michael Schuldiner (May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) is often referred to as “The godfather of death metal”. The influence of his band Death can certainly still be heard in the songs of current death metal acts.
Death were originally called Mantas when they formed in 1983 but it wasn’t until 1987 that they released their first album Scream Bloody Gore. They pioneered a technical progressive style of death metal that had not really been heard before, a style which became synonymous with the name Death.
In May 1999 Schuldiner experienced some pain in his upper neck and after consulting with several doctors was diagnosed with a tumor which was successfully removed the following year. Unfortunately the cancer returned in 2001 and Schuldiner fell ill again. He once again received treatment via a course of chemotherapy drugs which would ultimately weaken his resistance and immunity and he would contract pneumonia, an illness which he would finally succumb to on December 13, 2001.
Chuck Schuldiner was one of the most significant figures in the history of metal.”
Kerrang Magazine (January 2002)
I don’t think I should take the credits for this death metal stuff. I’m just a guy from a band, and I think Death is a metal band.”
Chuck Schuldiner
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), better known as Peter Steele was the frontman for goth-metal band Type O Negative. The band were formed in 1989 under the name ofRepulsion but had to change their name due to a conflict with a German band of the same name.
Type O Negative became one of the most unlikely bands to break into the mainstream in the 1990s with their third album Bloody Kisses, which became the first album released by Roadrunner Records to go platinum. The album boasted rock radio hits “Christian Woman,” a cover of Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze” and ”Black No. 1.”
News came of Steele’s passing due to heart failure on April 14, 2012 was initially received with disbelief as Steele pulled a hoax in 2005, posting his picture and the years “1962-2005″ on the group’s official website. Soon after, Steele all but disappeared as he battled drug problems and a prison stint.
We have lost several Roadrunner artists over the years but this is a biggie – this one hurts the most, not just because Peter was a great, great guy, but he figures so prominently in the history of this company (our first Gold album, our first radio success). He was a tortured soul for most of his life and certainly for the entire time we all knew him. Let’s hope he is in a better place.”
Roadrunner Records
James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009) drummer for the Californian metal bandAvenged Sevenfold, better known to fans as The Rev sadly passed away a few days after Christmas 2009. A coroner’s report has revealed that the 28-year-old died as a result of an accidental overdose of strong prescription painkillers and alcohol.
The members Avenged Sevenfold (or A7X) were still attending high school in Huntington Beach, CA, when they formed their band in 1999. Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for M. Shadows (vocals), Zacky Vengeance (guitar), Synyster Gates (guitar), the Reverend (drums), and Johnny Christ (bass) to make an impression with their aggressive hybrid of metal and punk-pop. The band made its official debut in July 2001, releasingSounding the Seventh Trumpet on the Good Life label before moving to the Hopeless roster for 2003′sWaking the Fallen.
Warner Bros. took interest in the band’s aggressive sound and issued its breakthrough release, City of Evil, in June 2005. The album reached number 30 on Billboard’s Top 200, propelled in part by the Top Ten success of the single “Bat Country.” The accompany music video was heavily rotated on MTV and Fuse, where live appearances also helped boost Avenged’s growing profile, and the band ultimately won the Best New Artist Award (though they were hardly newcomers) at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
The band released their self-titled album in 2007 which further added to their success and cemented their position as one of the world’s most popular metal bands.
The band were working on their fifth studio album when The Rev was found dead at his apartment and have admitted that they considered disbanding but eventually decided to carry on in memory of Sullivan who’s role on the album was filled by ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Once finished the album was entitled Nightmare to reflect the period of difficulty the band had experienced over the difficult times surrounding Sullivan’s death.
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world’s best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy’s family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time.
“Jimmy you are forever in our hearts. We love you.”
M Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance and Johnny Christ
Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) better known as Randy Rhoads is best known for his performances as Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist during the golden era of the former Black Sabbath frontman’s career.
Rhoads’ death was one of the most tragic out of this collection. He had been a passenger in a small aircraft where the pilot had decided it would be fun to buzz the tour bus inside which slept most of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, the plane’s wing clipped the tour bus and sent the plane spiralling into the garage of a nearby mansion where it burst into flames instantly killing the three people inside.
According to Rudy Sarzo’s “Off The Rails” autobiography, Ozzy and Sharon were asleep on the bus and he was awakened by Tommy that the driver (Andrew Aycock) was a pilot and was taking people up in an airplane (without permission from the plane’s owner and with an expired pilot’s license) Rudy turned down the offer and went back to sleep.
Randy and Rachel Youngblood (the bands hairdresser/seamstress) decided to take a flight so Randy could take photos from the air. Rachel put on her best dress and they took off. The pilot (with cocaine in his system) began buzzing the plane where his ex wife was standing outside the bus, when the plane clipped or crashed purposely into the bus, causing it to cartwheel, clip a tree and crash into a mansion exploding into flames and killing everyone on the plane.
The crash awoke everyone and they had to carefully climb through the front of the demolished front of the bus because there was glass and shrapnel everywhere.
According to Rudy, Tommy and Don Airey described a “struggle” going on inside the cockpit before the crash. They deduced that the pilot may have attempted to purposely crash the plane and taking his ex wife in the process and Randy was grabbing the controls to prevent it, causing the plane to miss a full on crash.
Another theory was the buzzing the pilot was doing was causing Rachel to panic and possibly have a heart attack (she had heart problems) and Randy was attempting to stop the recklessness.
Aycock’s wife lied in her deposition to the authorities and claimed to have been inside the plane when the crash occurred. If she had been, she would’ve been severely cut up because the crash shattered the windshield and side glass and had littered the front of the bus with shrapnel.
I was sleeping on the bus. Don Airey saw it. At first I thought the bus driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, crashed into a truck and run off the road. The plane ripped the bus into a million pieces. All we’ve got are fragments. … It was no prank. It was an accident and that’s it. For God’s sake, if I ever hear anybody say it was one of my practical jokes that went wrong, I’ll strangle the bastard. It was an accident, a horrible accident. I was crazy after it happened. I never spoke, I never went out. … He was a hero, a true legend. “
Ozzy Osbourne
Musicians are generally rated by influence on their peers and despite his youth and limited recorded work, Randy Rhoads is considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Rhoads has been on the covers of many guitar magazines and has influenced many guitar players, including Yngwie Malmsteen, Dimebag Darrell, Frank Hannon, Phil Demmel, Gary Holt, Mille Petrozza. Jeff Waters, Doug Aldrich, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, Kirk Hammett, John Petrucci, Tom Morello, Michael Angelo Batio, Brad Gillis, George Lynch, Alexi Laiho, Mick Thomson, Paul Gilbert and Buckethead.
Paul Dedrick Gray (April 8, 1972 – May 24, 2010) also known as The Pig or by his number #2 was the bass player and one of the main songwriters for the Iowa metal band Slipknot. He was one of the original members of the band only two of which now remain (Shawn Crahan and Joey Jordison). The band have had huge success since their 1999 self-titled debut album selling millions of albums and rising to the top of the metal genre.
The band are probably best known for their costumes and elaborate masks. Gray’s mask initially took the form of a pig but has since evolved to show only a minor resemblance to it’s original form. There is always huge excitement among fans when the band announce that they have revamped their masks.
On May 24, 2010, he was found dead in a hotel room in Urbandale, Iowa. Circumstances surrounding his death at the time were not immediately known, an autopsy suspected that his death was not caused by intention of anyone, but still did not reveal the cause of it. The day after his death, the remaining eight members of the band held a live press conference alongside Gray’s widow and brother, expressing their feelings about the incident.On June 21, the cause of death was confirmed as an accidental overdose on morphine and fentanyl, the latter being a synthetic morphine substitute.
He was kind of the person in the band that really wanted everybody in the band to always get along and just concentrate on the band. He was a really great friend and just a great person. He’s going to be sadly missed, and the world is going to be a different place without him.”
Shawn Crahan
Layne Thomas Staley (August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was the troubled frontman of Alice In Chainsand Mad Season. Staley was born in Kirkland, Washington in 1967. In the mid-1980s, he fronted the glam metal band Sleze, then formed Alice in Chains (then called Alice n’ Chains) with guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Michael Starr & drummer Sean Kinney.
Alice In Chains are widely regarded as one of the bands that brought the grunge scene into the mainstream of rock and metal music. Signed to Columbia Records in the late ’80s, AIC issued their first album,Facelift, in 1990. Hardcore touring built a fan base, but it wasn’t until the summer of 1991 that the single/video “Man in the Box” became a hit and broke the band to the big-time. Further releases Dirt andAlice in Chains, as well as the acoustic EPs Sap and Jar of Flies) garnered more attention and huge sales, solidifying the group as one of Seattle’s finest and earning Staley the respect as one of rock’s most original frontmen. Indeed, Staley’s influence permeated much of the late-’90s alt metal landscape, as such singers as Scott Stapp (Creed), Travis Meeks (Days of the New), and Sully Erna (Godsmack), clearly contained elements of the Alice in Chains frontman’s vocal style in their delivery.
Rumors that Staley had developed into a hardcore drug user began spreading by the mid-’90s as he seemed more interested in feeding his drug habit than pursuing music. His life took a turn for the worst in 1996 when his fiancée died from drugs, which friends say made the former Alice in Chains frontman blot out the pain with further drug abuse. During the last few years of his life, Staley rarely left his Seattle condominium, and refused to answer the door or phone when former bandmates or friends came around to check on the singer’s condition (which had supposedly deteriorated to the point that he had lost most of his teeth and had abscesses all over his arms). Although it shouldn’t have come as quite a surprise, the rock music world was shocked when Staley’s dead body was found on a sofa in his condo, the victim of a lethal overdose of heroin and cocaine. Since the body had been in the apartment for two weeks and had begun to decompose, it was hard to determine at first the exact date of Staley’s passing. Eventually, a date was determined, which proved to be eerie — April 5, 2002 — exactly eight years to the day that another leading figure of the early ’90s Seattle rock scene also took his life, Kurt Cobain.
On April 19, 2002 our friend Layne Staley was found dead in his Seattle home.
The official cause of the death is still unknown.
Yesterday we all managed to come together in Seattle.
It’s good to be with friends and family as we struggle to deal with this immense loss and try to celebrate this immense life.
We’re all looking for the usual things: comfort, purpose, answers, something to hold on to…a way to let him go in peace.
Mostly we’re all feeling heartbroken over the death of our beautiful friend.
He was a sweet man with a keen sense of humor and a deep sense of humanity.
He was an amazing musician, an inspiration, and a comfort to so many.
He made great music and gifted it to the world.
We are proud to have known him, to be his friend, and to create music with him.
For the past decade, Layne struggled greatly.
We can only hope that he has at last found peace.
We love you, Layne, dearly, and we will miss you endlessly.”
Jerry Cantrell, Mike Starr & Sean Kinney
Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was the iconic bassist for metal legendsMetallica.
Known for his eccentric playing style, Burton caught the attention of many bands in the San Francisco area with his performances in his band Trauma. The news of this wondrous and entertaining bassist filtered into Los Angeles where a young metal band by the name of Metallica had become disillusioned with their current 4-stringer. They see Cliff, playing at the Whiskey, flailing away at his bass. So the love affair begins. Metallica knew they must have Cliff in their band. Cliff wouldn’t go easily. After a few jams, Metallica finally agreed to leave their native L.A., to get Cliff. Not that leaving meant much to them, anyway. Metallica had never cared much for L.A. and the fans for the glam/poser scene had never cared much for their ripped jeans and fast music.
Cliff played his first show with Metallica, in San Francisco, on March 3, 1983. Little did anyone know that this band, with its wild bassist, Cliff Burton, would go on to produce three of the most influential albums in heavy metal history.
He featured on their first three albums, their debut Kill ‘Em All, Ride The Lightning and the groundbreakingMaster Of Puppets which regularly features in lists of ‘The Best Metal Albums Of All-Time”.
Sadly, Metallica and Cliff were not to be. The band went on a tour of Europe to promote the Puppets album, playing various dates. Their last show with Cliff was on September 26, 1986, in Stockholm, Sweden. Metallica always liked Stockholm, they seemed to get a good response from the fans.
Later that night, the band was in their bus, headed toward Copenhagen, Denmark, for a gig the next night. At about 3AM Stockholm time September 27, or 9PM Eastern Time US September 26, the bus began to slide on icy roads in the mountains between Stockholm and Copenhagen. It was a long slide, about 20 or 30 seconds. In the process, Cliff was thrown out of the bus. Then it fell landed on its side, crushing him.
The rest of the band continued on to Copenhagen, where they stayed in a hotel with Anthrax, with whom they were touring. Lars injured his foot, Kirk and James suffered trivial injuries. That night, while Kirk and Lars slept, James paced around, saying that he would never go on. He had just lost his best friend.
They did go on, and eventually replaced their fallen friend with Flotsam And Jetsam bass player Jason Newsted. Even though Newsted would enjoy Metallica’s most successful period with the release of the multi-million selling Black Album, it was apparent that in the eyes of his band-mates he was never going to fill Burton’s shoes. It is well documented about the hard time he was given by the band, especially by James Hetfield.
On April 4, 2009, Burton was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the rest of Metallica. During the ceremony, the induction was accepted by his father, Ray Burton, who shared the stage with the band and mentioned that Cliff’s mother was actually Metallica’s biggest fan.
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was the misunderstood front-man of the godfathers of the grunge scene Nirvana.
Cobain formed and reformed a series of bands before Nirvana came to be in 1986. Nirvana was an uneasy alliance between Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and eventually drummer and multi-instrumentalist Dave Grohl.
By 1988 Nirvana were doing shows and had demo tapes going around. In 1989 Nirvana recorded their rough-edged first album Bleach for local Seattle independent label Sub-Pop.
In Britain Nirvana received a lot of recognition and in 1991 their contract was bought out by Geffen, they signed to the mega-label, the first non-mainstream band to do so. Two and a half years after Nirvana’s first C.D. Bleach was released they released Nevermind, a series of different, crunching, screaming songs that along with it’s first single Smells Like Teen Spirit would propel Nirvana to mainstream stardom.
In February 1992 Cobain skipped off to Hawaii to marry the already pregnant Courtney Love. Later in the year Nirvana released Incesticide and in August Cobain had hospital treatment for heroin abuse. Shortly after Frances Bean Cobain was born. In early 1993 In Utero was released into the top spot on the music charts. In Utero was widely acclaimed by the music press and it contains some of Cobain’s most passionate work.
On March the 4th 1994 Cobain was rushed to hospital in a coma after an unsuccessful suicide bid in which he washed down about fifty prescription painkillers with champagne. The suicide bid was officially called an accident and was not even made known to close friends and associates. Several days later he returned to Seattle. Cobain’s wife, friends and managers convinced Cobain, who was still in deep distress to enter a detox program in L.A. According to a missing person’s report filed by his mother Cobain fled after only a few days of the program.
Cobain was cited in the Seattle area with a shotgun. Days later on the 5th of April he barricaded himself into the granny flat behind his mansion, put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. On Thursday April the 7th ~ two days after a medical examiner says Cobain shot himself and the day before his body was found police say Courtney Love herself was taken to hospital in L.A. for a drug overdose. Released on bail, Love checked herself into a rehab center but left soon after a friend called her the next day with news of Cobain’s death.
Cobain’s body was found when an electrician visiting the house to install a security system went round the back of the house when no one answered the front door and peered through windows. He thought he saw a mannequin sprawled on the floor until he noticed a splotch of blood by Cobain’s ear. When police broke down the door they found Cobain dead on the floor, a shotgun still pointed at his chin and on a nearby counter a suicide note written in red ink addressed to Love and the couples then 19 month old daughter Frances Bean.
The Suicide Note:
To Boddah
Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complain-ee. This note should be pretty easy to understand.
All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guilty beyond words about these things.
For example when we’re back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins., it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can’t fool you, any one of you. It simply isn’t fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100% fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I’ve tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do,God, believe me I do, but it’s not enough). I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. It must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they’re gone. I’m too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasms I once had as a child.
On our last 3 tours, I’ve had a much better appreciation for all the people I’ve known personally, and as fans of our music, but I still can’t get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There’s good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little, sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man. Why don’t you just enjoy it? I don’t know!
I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what i used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can’t stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become.
I have it good, very good, and I’m grateful, but since the age of seven, I’ve become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along that have empathy. Only because I love and feel sorry for people too much I guess.
Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I’m too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.
Peace, love, empathy.
Kurt Cobain
Frances and Courtney, I’ll be at your alter.
Please keep going Courtney, for Frances.
For her life, which will be so much happier without me.
I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!
Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) known to almost every rock and metal fan asRonnie James Dio, the little man with the BIG voice.
The grand wizard of classic rock. A poet of hope for the downtrodden. The single most important vocal technician in the history of heavy metal. All of these accolades have been garlanded upon the royal roar known as Ronnie James Dio.
Born in New Hampshire, USA, Ronnie first achieved recognition singing with his own band Elf. Deep Purple’s Roger Glover and Ian Paice spotted him in 1972, and Elf then supported the British band on several US tours. He has sung for Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and appeared on two of Black Sabbath’s best non-Ozzy monoliths (Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules). In 1982, the mixing of the live album Live Evilled to Dio and drummer Vinny Appice quitting the band to form the band Dio. The band Dio released its first effort Holy Diver in 1983, an album that quickly achieved platinum sales and established the quartet as one of the prominent stadium acts of the 80s. The arc of their popularity continued to rise with Last In Line(1984) and Sacred Heart (1985), at which time Dio assembled the Hear N’ Aid benefit for famine relief in Africa, created after the pattern of the previous year’s Band Aid benefit (but culling its participants from the metal rather than the pop music community). With 1987′s Dream Evil the inevitable decline in popularity had begun, and by the release of Lock Up The Wolves at the close of the decade, Dio had completed its journey to the ass-end of music consumer trends.
Dio (the singer and the band) continued to remain active throughout the 90s and 00s, their status always remaining solid in the heavy metal community regardless of the inclination of mainstream tastes. A slight resurgence of the band’s former popularity accompanied the 2000 concept album Magica, which marked the return of several members from earlier line-ups. The release of Killing the Dragon in 2002 coincided with Ronnie James Dio’s 60th (!) birthday, and a 10th studio album Master of the Moon followed in 2004.
Prior to his death, he was collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath band-mates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice, under the name Heaven & Hell, whose only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009.
In late 2009 Dio announced he was suffering from stomach cancer; he died on May 16, 2010.
Dio had become a fixture in heavy metal’s global family, his legend burnished by his being credited with making the “devil horns” hand gesture the international metal call sign. Dio claimed he had learned it from his Italian grandmother, who used it to ward off evil spirits.
Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004) will forever be knows as simply Dimebag to his legions of fans.
Throughout the early 1990s, Dimebag Darrell Abbott was mentioned on just about every poll that was published listing great heavy metal guitarists. As the lead guitarist for Pantera, and later Damageplan, Abbott was known for his creative riffs and licks and hard-hitting solos that left fans begging for more. When looking at the groups that have followed and emulated him, it’s obvious that Dimebag’s innovations and creativity are still in evidence today.
Pantera was formed in the early ’80s by Darrell (who was going by the name Diamond Darrell), along with his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul and bassist Rex Smith (then known as Rex Rocker). Although the band would one day become one of metal’s leading forces, Pantera early on reflected their influences at the time, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, and (visually), Mötley Crüe. With singer Terry Glaze fronting the band, Pantera issued a trio of albums that the group would later ‘disown’, 1983′s Metal Magic, 1984′s Projects in the Jungle, and 1985′s I Am the Night.
With the departure of Glaze Pantera found a much better fit with singer Phil Anselmo, but it took a while for the new lineup to click, as their first recording together, 1988′s Power Metal, was a step in the right direction, but still not up to the high standards the group would one day set. Yet to have issued an album on a major label, Pantera finally made the jump in 1990, signing on with the Atlantic subsidiary East West. Almost overnight, it seemed like Pantera was reborn, as they completely rejected their early pop-metal direction in favor of a much more heavy and brutal one, which focused on such bands as Slayer, Metallica, and Black Sabbath. This touched off a string of classic metal releases that would see Pantera become one of the world’s top metal bands 1990′s Cowboys From Hell, 1992′s Vulgar Display of Power, and 1994′sFar Beyond Driven. Darrell (who was now known as Dimebag Darrell) soon became recognized as one of metal’s finest players appearing in countless polls and publications and ranking alongside such greats as Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen.
With Pantera on an apparent hiatus Darrell and Vinnie Paul formed a new metal outfit, Damageplan. They never achieved the same success as Pantera but they were hardly given the chance as a a cruel and horrific event would sadly snatch Dimebag away from us all.
Dimebag was among the five people killed during a shooting spree at a Columbus, Ohio, nightclub. Also dead are the gunman, 25-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, Ohio; Damageplan bodyguard Jeff Thompson, 40; fan Nathan Bray, 23; and Erin Halk, 29, who worked at the club. Gale also wounded three people.
Damageplan had just begun their first song in front of approximately 250 people at Alrosa Villa when the gunman jumped onstage, made a comment about Pantera, and began firing at close range into Darrell’s body, shooting him several times before opening fire on the crowd.
A patrol officer nearby, James Niggemeyer, heard the call of shots fired at 10:18 p.m. and by 10:20 p.m. had snuck inside the club through a back door, according to public information officer Sergeant Brent Mull. After entering, Niggemeyer, who had no backup, confronted the gunman onstage, where he observed one victim and Gale holding a hostage by the neck.
“The officer was able to strategically gun this guy down before he was able to kill his hostage, and it appeared that he was about to kill his hostage,” Mull said at a press conference Thursday (December 9). “The suspect had the hostage in a headlock situation and had his firearm out shooting, and it’s believed he was about to take his gun to the hostage.”
But the hostage wriggled out of the way slightly, Mull said, and the officer was able to kill the shooter with a single shotgun blast as the hostage escaped uninjured.
Dimebag Darrell and John Lennon were shot and killed on the same day. (December 8th)
Top 10s » 10 Dead Rockers And The Legacies They Left Behind
Rock stars are people too, right? They suffer the same problems with health and personal issues as the rest of us mere mortals. Well, to some they are far more than humans…they are gods put up on a pedestal that touch our innermost souls. They write and perform songs that touch us so deeply that they become our friends, our family, even though we will possibly never get to meet them in our lifetimes. They are pioneers, influencers, leaders and when mortality catches up with them through illness, accident, self-abuse or by the hands of others they find their places among the gods of their respective genres.
Below you will find a list of 10 musicians that have left this earth prematurely yet have left a profound mark on all those touched by their creativity and humanity…
Charles Michael Schuldiner (May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) is often referred to as “The godfather of death metal”. The influence of his band Death can certainly still be heard in the songs of current death metal acts.
Death were originally called Mantas when they formed in 1983 but it wasn’t until 1987 that they released their first album Scream Bloody Gore. They pioneered a technical progressive style of death metal that had not really been heard before, a style which became synonymous with the name Death.
In May 1999 Schuldiner experienced some pain in his upper neck and after consulting with several doctors was diagnosed with a tumor which was successfully removed the following year. Unfortunately the cancer returned in 2001 and Schuldiner fell ill again. He once again received treatment via a course of chemotherapy drugs which would ultimately weaken his resistance and immunity and he would contract pneumonia, an illness which he would finally succumb to on December 13, 2001.
Chuck Schuldiner was one of the most significant figures in the history of metal.”
Kerrang Magazine (January 2002)
I don’t think I should take the credits for this death metal stuff. I’m just a guy from a band, and I think Death is a metal band.”
Chuck Schuldiner
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), better known as Peter Steele was the frontman for goth-metal band Type O Negative. The band were formed in 1989 under the name ofRepulsion but had to change their name due to a conflict with a German band of the same name.
Type O Negative became one of the most unlikely bands to break into the mainstream in the 1990s with their third album Bloody Kisses, which became the first album released by Roadrunner Records to go platinum. The album boasted rock radio hits “Christian Woman,” a cover of Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze” and ”Black No. 1.”
News came of Steele’s passing due to heart failure on April 14, 2012 was initially received with disbelief as Steele pulled a hoax in 2005, posting his picture and the years “1962-2005″ on the group’s official website. Soon after, Steele all but disappeared as he battled drug problems and a prison stint.
We have lost several Roadrunner artists over the years but this is a biggie – this one hurts the most, not just because Peter was a great, great guy, but he figures so prominently in the history of this company (our first Gold album, our first radio success). He was a tortured soul for most of his life and certainly for the entire time we all knew him. Let’s hope he is in a better place.”
Roadrunner Records
James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009) drummer for the Californian metal bandAvenged Sevenfold, better known to fans as The Rev sadly passed away a few days after Christmas 2009. A coroner’s report has revealed that the 28-year-old died as a result of an accidental overdose of strong prescription painkillers and alcohol.
The members Avenged Sevenfold (or A7X) were still attending high school in Huntington Beach, CA, when they formed their band in 1999. Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for M. Shadows (vocals), Zacky Vengeance (guitar), Synyster Gates (guitar), the Reverend (drums), and Johnny Christ (bass) to make an impression with their aggressive hybrid of metal and punk-pop. The band made its official debut in July 2001, releasingSounding the Seventh Trumpet on the Good Life label before moving to the Hopeless roster for 2003′sWaking the Fallen.
Warner Bros. took interest in the band’s aggressive sound and issued its breakthrough release, City of Evil, in June 2005. The album reached number 30 on Billboard’s Top 200, propelled in part by the Top Ten success of the single “Bat Country.” The accompany music video was heavily rotated on MTV and Fuse, where live appearances also helped boost Avenged’s growing profile, and the band ultimately won the Best New Artist Award (though they were hardly newcomers) at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
The band released their self-titled album in 2007 which further added to their success and cemented their position as one of the world’s most popular metal bands.
The band were working on their fifth studio album when The Rev was found dead at his apartment and have admitted that they considered disbanding but eventually decided to carry on in memory of Sullivan who’s role on the album was filled by ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Once finished the album was entitled Nightmare to reflect the period of difficulty the band had experienced over the difficult times surrounding Sullivan’s death.
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world’s best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy’s family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time.
“Jimmy you are forever in our hearts. We love you.”
M Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance and Johnny Christ
Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) better known as Randy Rhoads is best known for his performances as Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist during the golden era of the former Black Sabbath frontman’s career.
Rhoads’ death was one of the most tragic out of this collection. He had been a passenger in a small aircraft where the pilot had decided it would be fun to buzz the tour bus inside which slept most of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, the plane’s wing clipped the tour bus and sent the plane spiralling into the garage of a nearby mansion where it burst into flames instantly killing the three people inside.
According to Rudy Sarzo’s “Off The Rails” autobiography, Ozzy and Sharon were asleep on the bus and he was awakened by Tommy that the driver (Andrew Aycock) was a pilot and was taking people up in an airplane (without permission from the plane’s owner and with an expired pilot’s license) Rudy turned down the offer and went back to sleep.
Randy and Rachel Youngblood (the bands hairdresser/seamstress) decided to take a flight so Randy could take photos from the air. Rachel put on her best dress and they took off. The pilot (with cocaine in his system) began buzzing the plane where his ex wife was standing outside the bus, when the plane clipped or crashed purposely into the bus, causing it to cartwheel, clip a tree and crash into a mansion exploding into flames and killing everyone on the plane.
The crash awoke everyone and they had to carefully climb through the front of the demolished front of the bus because there was glass and shrapnel everywhere.
According to Rudy, Tommy and Don Airey described a “struggle” going on inside the cockpit before the crash. They deduced that the pilot may have attempted to purposely crash the plane and taking his ex wife in the process and Randy was grabbing the controls to prevent it, causing the plane to miss a full on crash.
Another theory was the buzzing the pilot was doing was causing Rachel to panic and possibly have a heart attack (she had heart problems) and Randy was attempting to stop the recklessness.
Aycock’s wife lied in her deposition to the authorities and claimed to have been inside the plane when the crash occurred. If she had been, she would’ve been severely cut up because the crash shattered the windshield and side glass and had littered the front of the bus with shrapnel.
I was sleeping on the bus. Don Airey saw it. At first I thought the bus driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, crashed into a truck and run off the road. The plane ripped the bus into a million pieces. All we’ve got are fragments. … It was no prank. It was an accident and that’s it. For God’s sake, if I ever hear anybody say it was one of my practical jokes that went wrong, I’ll strangle the bastard. It was an accident, a horrible accident. I was crazy after it happened. I never spoke, I never went out. … He was a hero, a true legend. “
Ozzy Osbourne
Musicians are generally rated by influence on their peers and despite his youth and limited recorded work, Randy Rhoads is considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Rhoads has been on the covers of many guitar magazines and has influenced many guitar players, including Yngwie Malmsteen, Dimebag Darrell, Frank Hannon, Phil Demmel, Gary Holt, Mille Petrozza. Jeff Waters, Doug Aldrich, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, Kirk Hammett, John Petrucci, Tom Morello, Michael Angelo Batio, Brad Gillis, George Lynch, Alexi Laiho, Mick Thomson, Paul Gilbert and Buckethead.
Paul Dedrick Gray (April 8, 1972 – May 24, 2010) also known as The Pig or by his number #2 was the bass player and one of the main songwriters for the Iowa metal band Slipknot. He was one of the original members of the band only two of which now remain (Shawn Crahan and Joey Jordison). The band have had huge success since their 1999 self-titled debut album selling millions of albums and rising to the top of the metal genre.
The band are probably best known for their costumes and elaborate masks. Gray’s mask initially took the form of a pig but has since evolved to show only a minor resemblance to it’s original form. There is always huge excitement among fans when the band announce that they have revamped their masks.
On May 24, 2010, he was found dead in a hotel room in Urbandale, Iowa. Circumstances surrounding his death at the time were not immediately known, an autopsy suspected that his death was not caused by intention of anyone, but still did not reveal the cause of it. The day after his death, the remaining eight members of the band held a live press conference alongside Gray’s widow and brother, expressing their feelings about the incident.On June 21, the cause of death was confirmed as an accidental overdose on morphine and fentanyl, the latter being a synthetic morphine substitute.
He was kind of the person in the band that really wanted everybody in the band to always get along and just concentrate on the band. He was a really great friend and just a great person. He’s going to be sadly missed, and the world is going to be a different place without him.”
Shawn Crahan
Layne Thomas Staley (August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was the troubled frontman of Alice In Chainsand Mad Season. Staley was born in Kirkland, Washington in 1967. In the mid-1980s, he fronted the glam metal band Sleze, then formed Alice in Chains (then called Alice n’ Chains) with guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Michael Starr & drummer Sean Kinney.
Alice In Chains are widely regarded as one of the bands that brought the grunge scene into the mainstream of rock and metal music. Signed to Columbia Records in the late ’80s, AIC issued their first album,Facelift, in 1990. Hardcore touring built a fan base, but it wasn’t until the summer of 1991 that the single/video “Man in the Box” became a hit and broke the band to the big-time. Further releases Dirt andAlice in Chains, as well as the acoustic EPs Sap and Jar of Flies) garnered more attention and huge sales, solidifying the group as one of Seattle’s finest and earning Staley the respect as one of rock’s most original frontmen. Indeed, Staley’s influence permeated much of the late-’90s alt metal landscape, as such singers as Scott Stapp (Creed), Travis Meeks (Days of the New), and Sully Erna (Godsmack), clearly contained elements of the Alice in Chains frontman’s vocal style in their delivery.
Rumors that Staley had developed into a hardcore drug user began spreading by the mid-’90s as he seemed more interested in feeding his drug habit than pursuing music. His life took a turn for the worst in 1996 when his fiancée died from drugs, which friends say made the former Alice in Chains frontman blot out the pain with further drug abuse. During the last few years of his life, Staley rarely left his Seattle condominium, and refused to answer the door or phone when former bandmates or friends came around to check on the singer’s condition (which had supposedly deteriorated to the point that he had lost most of his teeth and had abscesses all over his arms). Although it shouldn’t have come as quite a surprise, the rock music world was shocked when Staley’s dead body was found on a sofa in his condo, the victim of a lethal overdose of heroin and cocaine. Since the body had been in the apartment for two weeks and had begun to decompose, it was hard to determine at first the exact date of Staley’s passing. Eventually, a date was determined, which proved to be eerie — April 5, 2002 — exactly eight years to the day that another leading figure of the early ’90s Seattle rock scene also took his life, Kurt Cobain.
On April 19, 2002 our friend Layne Staley was found dead in his Seattle home.
The official cause of the death is still unknown.
Yesterday we all managed to come together in Seattle.
It’s good to be with friends and family as we struggle to deal with this immense loss and try to celebrate this immense life.
We’re all looking for the usual things: comfort, purpose, answers, something to hold on to…a way to let him go in peace.
Mostly we’re all feeling heartbroken over the death of our beautiful friend.
He was a sweet man with a keen sense of humor and a deep sense of humanity.
He was an amazing musician, an inspiration, and a comfort to so many.
He made great music and gifted it to the world.
We are proud to have known him, to be his friend, and to create music with him.
For the past decade, Layne struggled greatly.
We can only hope that he has at last found peace.
We love you, Layne, dearly, and we will miss you endlessly.”
Jerry Cantrell, Mike Starr & Sean Kinney
Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was the iconic bassist for metal legendsMetallica.
Known for his eccentric playing style, Burton caught the attention of many bands in the San Francisco area with his performances in his band Trauma. The news of this wondrous and entertaining bassist filtered into Los Angeles where a young metal band by the name of Metallica had become disillusioned with their current 4-stringer. They see Cliff, playing at the Whiskey, flailing away at his bass. So the love affair begins. Metallica knew they must have Cliff in their band. Cliff wouldn’t go easily. After a few jams, Metallica finally agreed to leave their native L.A., to get Cliff. Not that leaving meant much to them, anyway. Metallica had never cared much for L.A. and the fans for the glam/poser scene had never cared much for their ripped jeans and fast music.
Cliff played his first show with Metallica, in San Francisco, on March 3, 1983. Little did anyone know that this band, with its wild bassist, Cliff Burton, would go on to produce three of the most influential albums in heavy metal history.
He featured on their first three albums, their debut Kill ‘Em All, Ride The Lightning and the groundbreakingMaster Of Puppets which regularly features in lists of ‘The Best Metal Albums Of All-Time”.
Sadly, Metallica and Cliff were not to be. The band went on a tour of Europe to promote the Puppets album, playing various dates. Their last show with Cliff was on September 26, 1986, in Stockholm, Sweden. Metallica always liked Stockholm, they seemed to get a good response from the fans.
Later that night, the band was in their bus, headed toward Copenhagen, Denmark, for a gig the next night. At about 3AM Stockholm time September 27, or 9PM Eastern Time US September 26, the bus began to slide on icy roads in the mountains between Stockholm and Copenhagen. It was a long slide, about 20 or 30 seconds. In the process, Cliff was thrown out of the bus. Then it fell landed on its side, crushing him.
The rest of the band continued on to Copenhagen, where they stayed in a hotel with Anthrax, with whom they were touring. Lars injured his foot, Kirk and James suffered trivial injuries. That night, while Kirk and Lars slept, James paced around, saying that he would never go on. He had just lost his best friend.
They did go on, and eventually replaced their fallen friend with Flotsam And Jetsam bass player Jason Newsted. Even though Newsted would enjoy Metallica’s most successful period with the release of the multi-million selling Black Album, it was apparent that in the eyes of his band-mates he was never going to fill Burton’s shoes. It is well documented about the hard time he was given by the band, especially by James Hetfield.
On April 4, 2009, Burton was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the rest of Metallica. During the ceremony, the induction was accepted by his father, Ray Burton, who shared the stage with the band and mentioned that Cliff’s mother was actually Metallica’s biggest fan.
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was the misunderstood front-man of the godfathers of the grunge scene Nirvana.
Cobain formed and reformed a series of bands before Nirvana came to be in 1986. Nirvana was an uneasy alliance between Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and eventually drummer and multi-instrumentalist Dave Grohl.
By 1988 Nirvana were doing shows and had demo tapes going around. In 1989 Nirvana recorded their rough-edged first album Bleach for local Seattle independent label Sub-Pop.
In Britain Nirvana received a lot of recognition and in 1991 their contract was bought out by Geffen, they signed to the mega-label, the first non-mainstream band to do so. Two and a half years after Nirvana’s first C.D. Bleach was released they released Nevermind, a series of different, crunching, screaming songs that along with it’s first single Smells Like Teen Spirit would propel Nirvana to mainstream stardom.
In February 1992 Cobain skipped off to Hawaii to marry the already pregnant Courtney Love. Later in the year Nirvana released Incesticide and in August Cobain had hospital treatment for heroin abuse. Shortly after Frances Bean Cobain was born. In early 1993 In Utero was released into the top spot on the music charts. In Utero was widely acclaimed by the music press and it contains some of Cobain’s most passionate work.
On March the 4th 1994 Cobain was rushed to hospital in a coma after an unsuccessful suicide bid in which he washed down about fifty prescription painkillers with champagne. The suicide bid was officially called an accident and was not even made known to close friends and associates. Several days later he returned to Seattle. Cobain’s wife, friends and managers convinced Cobain, who was still in deep distress to enter a detox program in L.A. According to a missing person’s report filed by his mother Cobain fled after only a few days of the program.
Cobain was cited in the Seattle area with a shotgun. Days later on the 5th of April he barricaded himself into the granny flat behind his mansion, put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. On Thursday April the 7th ~ two days after a medical examiner says Cobain shot himself and the day before his body was found police say Courtney Love herself was taken to hospital in L.A. for a drug overdose. Released on bail, Love checked herself into a rehab center but left soon after a friend called her the next day with news of Cobain’s death.
Cobain’s body was found when an electrician visiting the house to install a security system went round the back of the house when no one answered the front door and peered through windows. He thought he saw a mannequin sprawled on the floor until he noticed a splotch of blood by Cobain’s ear. When police broke down the door they found Cobain dead on the floor, a shotgun still pointed at his chin and on a nearby counter a suicide note written in red ink addressed to Love and the couples then 19 month old daughter Frances Bean.
The Suicide Note:
To Boddah
Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complain-ee. This note should be pretty easy to understand.
All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guilty beyond words about these things.
For example when we’re back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins., it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can’t fool you, any one of you. It simply isn’t fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100% fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I’ve tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do,God, believe me I do, but it’s not enough). I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. It must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they’re gone. I’m too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasms I once had as a child.
On our last 3 tours, I’ve had a much better appreciation for all the people I’ve known personally, and as fans of our music, but I still can’t get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There’s good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little, sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man. Why don’t you just enjoy it? I don’t know!
I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what i used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can’t stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become.
I have it good, very good, and I’m grateful, but since the age of seven, I’ve become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along that have empathy. Only because I love and feel sorry for people too much I guess.
Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I’m too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.
Peace, love, empathy.
Kurt Cobain
Frances and Courtney, I’ll be at your alter.
Please keep going Courtney, for Frances.
For her life, which will be so much happier without me.
I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!
Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) known to almost every rock and metal fan asRonnie James Dio, the little man with the BIG voice.
The grand wizard of classic rock. A poet of hope for the downtrodden. The single most important vocal technician in the history of heavy metal. All of these accolades have been garlanded upon the royal roar known as Ronnie James Dio.
Born in New Hampshire, USA, Ronnie first achieved recognition singing with his own band Elf. Deep Purple’s Roger Glover and Ian Paice spotted him in 1972, and Elf then supported the British band on several US tours. He has sung for Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and appeared on two of Black Sabbath’s best non-Ozzy monoliths (Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules). In 1982, the mixing of the live album Live Evilled to Dio and drummer Vinny Appice quitting the band to form the band Dio. The band Dio released its first effort Holy Diver in 1983, an album that quickly achieved platinum sales and established the quartet as one of the prominent stadium acts of the 80s. The arc of their popularity continued to rise with Last In Line(1984) and Sacred Heart (1985), at which time Dio assembled the Hear N’ Aid benefit for famine relief in Africa, created after the pattern of the previous year’s Band Aid benefit (but culling its participants from the metal rather than the pop music community). With 1987′s Dream Evil the inevitable decline in popularity had begun, and by the release of Lock Up The Wolves at the close of the decade, Dio had completed its journey to the ass-end of music consumer trends.
Dio (the singer and the band) continued to remain active throughout the 90s and 00s, their status always remaining solid in the heavy metal community regardless of the inclination of mainstream tastes. A slight resurgence of the band’s former popularity accompanied the 2000 concept album Magica, which marked the return of several members from earlier line-ups. The release of Killing the Dragon in 2002 coincided with Ronnie James Dio’s 60th (!) birthday, and a 10th studio album Master of the Moon followed in 2004.
Prior to his death, he was collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath band-mates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice, under the name Heaven & Hell, whose only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009.
In late 2009 Dio announced he was suffering from stomach cancer; he died on May 16, 2010.
Dio had become a fixture in heavy metal’s global family, his legend burnished by his being credited with making the “devil horns” hand gesture the international metal call sign. Dio claimed he had learned it from his Italian grandmother, who used it to ward off evil spirits.
Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004) will forever be knows as simply Dimebag to his legions of fans.
Throughout the early 1990s, Dimebag Darrell Abbott was mentioned on just about every poll that was published listing great heavy metal guitarists. As the lead guitarist for Pantera, and later Damageplan, Abbott was known for his creative riffs and licks and hard-hitting solos that left fans begging for more. When looking at the groups that have followed and emulated him, it’s obvious that Dimebag’s innovations and creativity are still in evidence today.
Pantera was formed in the early ’80s by Darrell (who was going by the name Diamond Darrell), along with his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul and bassist Rex Smith (then known as Rex Rocker). Although the band would one day become one of metal’s leading forces, Pantera early on reflected their influences at the time, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, and (visually), Mötley Crüe. With singer Terry Glaze fronting the band, Pantera issued a trio of albums that the group would later ‘disown’, 1983′s Metal Magic, 1984′s Projects in the Jungle, and 1985′s I Am the Night.
With the departure of Glaze Pantera found a much better fit with singer Phil Anselmo, but it took a while for the new lineup to click, as their first recording together, 1988′s Power Metal, was a step in the right direction, but still not up to the high standards the group would one day set. Yet to have issued an album on a major label, Pantera finally made the jump in 1990, signing on with the Atlantic subsidiary East West. Almost overnight, it seemed like Pantera was reborn, as they completely rejected their early pop-metal direction in favor of a much more heavy and brutal one, which focused on such bands as Slayer, Metallica, and Black Sabbath. This touched off a string of classic metal releases that would see Pantera become one of the world’s top metal bands 1990′s Cowboys From Hell, 1992′s Vulgar Display of Power, and 1994′sFar Beyond Driven. Darrell (who was now known as Dimebag Darrell) soon became recognized as one of metal’s finest players appearing in countless polls and publications and ranking alongside such greats as Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen.
With Pantera on an apparent hiatus Darrell and Vinnie Paul formed a new metal outfit, Damageplan. They never achieved the same success as Pantera but they were hardly given the chance as a a cruel and horrific event would sadly snatch Dimebag away from us all.
Dimebag was among the five people killed during a shooting spree at a Columbus, Ohio, nightclub. Also dead are the gunman, 25-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, Ohio; Damageplan bodyguard Jeff Thompson, 40; fan Nathan Bray, 23; and Erin Halk, 29, who worked at the club. Gale also wounded three people.
Damageplan had just begun their first song in front of approximately 250 people at Alrosa Villa when the gunman jumped onstage, made a comment about Pantera, and began firing at close range into Darrell’s body, shooting him several times before opening fire on the crowd.
A patrol officer nearby, James Niggemeyer, heard the call of shots fired at 10:18 p.m. and by 10:20 p.m. had snuck inside the club through a back door, according to public information officer Sergeant Brent Mull. After entering, Niggemeyer, who had no backup, confronted the gunman onstage, where he observed one victim and Gale holding a hostage by the neck.
“The officer was able to strategically gun this guy down before he was able to kill his hostage, and it appeared that he was about to kill his hostage,” Mull said at a press conference Thursday (December 9). “The suspect had the hostage in a headlock situation and had his firearm out shooting, and it’s believed he was about to take his gun to the hostage.”
But the hostage wriggled out of the way slightly, Mull said, and the officer was able to kill the shooter with a single shotgun blast as the hostage escaped uninjured.
Dimebag Darrell and John Lennon were shot and killed on the same day. (December 8th)